Parshah Columnists

While there are exceptions to the rule, when motivation to change stems merely from wanting to avoid a bad outcome, rather than obtaining a good result, the change is usually temporary.

The sotah ritual concerned a wife whose husband suspected her of adultery and would have her drink special “bitter” water in the Holy Temple complex.

The Torah describes three laws: the “wayward woman,” the nazirite and the priestly blessing.

Only G‑d knows what we truly need in our lives at any given time.

Sure, we can erect a structure. That's the easy part. The question is: will G-d see fit to live there?

It is interesting to think that for thousands of years we have been reading again and again the account of this journey in the wilderness...

Whether as a kohen blessing the congregation, or any person studying Torah, or indeed carrying out any mitzvah, G‑d responds, at every moment of life...

You are married, or intensely committed, to a vision, a goal, a dream. Then along comes life . . .

Why was G‑d’s voice confined to the Sanctuary?

In commenting on one of the blessings in the Priestly Benediction, the Talmud reveals an important aspect of the Jew's attitude to Judaism.

A trainable cat, a prince who thinks he’s a rooster, and a rebbe who digs up dirt.

Sin is foolish. We all know it. No one ever feels good after a sin, and no one feels bad after doing a mitzvah. But we sin anyway. Then we feel guilty, then we sin again . . .

Jews have distinct rituals: a way of dress, interesting holidays, and a unique diet. When G-d gave us these instructions He told us that He was choosing us as His special nation. But beneath those rituals, are we truly distinct? As Jews, do we think differently?

Some skeptic we have here! You don't question the ability of water mixed with dried ink and a harmless bitter herb to cause someone's body to explode. This you apparently consider a natural outcome of drinking this mixture...

Perhaps it’s one of those forbidden questions. Perhaps it just breaks too many assumptions. But we’ll ask it anyway: Have the properties of light changed over the centuries? Has the power of gravity weakened with time? Has matter become less material? When you turn it over a few times and rub it between your fingers, everything in our world turns out to contain something of the infinite . . .

It’s easier and more comfortable to just skate by on natural talent and future promise. Near enough becomes good enough.

In fairness, no institution can be expected to survive on well-wishes alone. I don’t question people's and institutions' right to support, only the chutzpah of collecting "for G-d" and directing it to another cause...

The chazzan reaches the moment, the Kohanim turn around, lower their prayer shawls over their eyes, raise their hands towards the crowd and the Priestly Blessing begins. What an amazing religion we have where certain people have been specifically assigned the job of blessing the masses with sanctity and love:

If I set two plates before you, one filed with cookies, the other with a million dollars, which one would you choose?

When we become addicted to a particular indulgence, we must wean ourselves from the addiction by abstaining completely until we have recovered.

Heaven or earth? The kollel or the kibbutz? We Jews have been debating the issue for as long as we have been a people

To the fire-and-brimstone types, the word smells of shame and scorched flesh. To the hedonist it sounds like fun. Some think it's a wholly Christian concept while others ascribe it to the ancient Hebrews. To the sages of the Talmud, it is, above all, an act of profound stupidity

It seems that the Sages knew quite a bit about us alcoholics. Who has been as ready to find fault in others as we have been? Who has been as indignant toward the shortcomings of others?

Make those you meet feel important, especially the people whom others tend to take for granted.

The parsha of Naso contains the laws relating to the nazirite – an individual who undertook, usually for a limited period of time, to observe special rules of holiness and abstinence: not to drink wine (including anything made from grapes), not to have his hair cut and not to defile himself by contact with the dead.

Few things in the Torah are more revolutionary than its conception of leadership

When everyone else hesitated, he jumped into the swirling sea.

On Shavuot, we received the Ten Commandments—the marriage between G‑d and His people. Like the “jealous husband,” He warned us: “Don’t have other gods before Me.”